Images of Death in Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar’s Poetics

Abstract

This study explores literary symbols employed in Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar's works which reflect his thoughts on death. According to Tanpınar, death is a philosophical question that reflects the tragic side of life, a question that has a deep impact on his thoughts. His realization of his mortality as an artist on the one hand, and his search for immortality through his body of work, history, society, and culture that he is in, are one of the main points of conflict in his works. An analysis of Tanpınar's works reveals that the ideas of death and mortality are at the core of his process of writing. As a result he uses, consciously or subconsciously, symbols related to death. The fact that death does not have a clear description leads one to give it a different meaning. Tanpınar, as a human being and as an artist, as well as a member of the society, interpreted the subject in his own way and reflected upon these in his works. These symbols represent themselves as synonyms or in similar wording in his various works. This article explores main images employed in Tanpınar's works.